The Fight That Changed Everything
by FanOfDeliciousFlavour
Summary: When Lance takes a hit for Keith on a mission, you can bet they're going to argue about it. But this argument takes an interesting turn as the two paladins find themselves learning more about each other than ever before. (A Klance One-Shot)


**A/N - Hey guys, welcome to the (short) story! I was having writers block when working on my other fics, and decided to take a break to write a nice, angsty Klance one-shot. Ahhh... so relaxing.**

 **WARNING: This one-shot does contain some more intense scenes, but I promise there is no actual smut contained in this story. There are also spoilers for season 3.**

* * *

As soon as they were out of their lions, Keith stormed towards Lance.

"How could you be so stupid?" He shouted. Lance backed away, hands in the air.

"Whoa, hey, what did I do this time?" He asked. Keith glared at him in frustration.

"You know _exactly_ what you did!" Lance stared at him, uncomprehending. "That hit you took, you dumbass!"

Lance looked at Keith, incredulous.

"What, you mean the hit I took to _save you_?" He asked. "How the quiznak-"

"Exactly! Why'd you try to save me?" Keith demanded. "I had it handled."

Lance felt himself getting angry now too.

"You had a dozen galra soldiers on your ass! That is not what I would call having it handled." He shot back. "What is your problem?"

"You could have died!" Keith yelled.

"You could've too!" Lance yelled back. "Why do you think I took that hit? You'd already taken enough hits."

Keith gritted his teeth.

"So you put aside your own safety, for what?" He asked angrily. "I would've been fine. You nearly jeopardized the mission by taking that hit."

"Look Keith, I know you don't think that highly of me, but I am not some damsel in distress who needs to be protected!" Lance pointed out.

"Yeah, well, you're not exactly a warrior to be feared either!" Keith shot back.

Lance blinked. That comment had stung, and Keith knew it. Lance's eyes flashed, and Keith knew he'd crossed a line, in a way he hadn't before.

"Oh, so you think _you're_ the warrior, then?" He hissed. "Big, macho Keith, new leader of Voltron, swooping in to save poor, incompetent Lance who got stuck with the lion he left behind!"

Lance regretted his words the instant he'd said them. The hurt was evident on Keith's features, and in that moment Lance hated himself.

He knew how insecure Keith was about being the black paladin. He knew how much Keith missed Red. Even if Keith had made a hurtful comment first, there was no excuse for Lance to have gone this far.

"I don't-" Keith started, but he paused, looking down. Lance could see him mentally steeling himself.

"Whatever," He mumbled eventually. "I'm leaving."

Keith spun on his heel and took off at a fast pace down the hallway.

"Where are you going?" Lance called after him.

"Anywhere without you."

* * *

Lance cursed under his breath as he stared at Keith's retreating figure. He had a choice to make, and it wasn't an easy one.

The old Lance would have let him go, maybe would have even relished in the fact that he'd broken Keith down. But now… all he felt was guilt. Immense guilt, and a need to fix what he had done.

After all, Lance and Keith were closer than they'd ever been. Sure, there were no late night chats about life and their dreams, but they had a kind of silent friendship. Their bond was displayed through acts of teamwork, watching each other's backs, and sometimes… well, sometimes there were certain bonding moments that Lance had been quick to deny.

In light of this, Lance knew that this wasn't a choice at all.

He took off down the hallway in the direction Keith had gone.

* * *

Keith wasted no time in getting back to his quarters. He didn't think Lance would follow him, but still… he wanted to get away as fast as possible.

Before anyone could see him crack.

As soon as the door closed behind him, he collapsed onto his bed. Staring at the ceiling, Lance's words echoed through his head.

 _So you think_ you're _the warrior, then?_

 _Big, macho Keith…_

 _...the lion you left behind._

He closed his eyes, trying to block it out, but to no avail. All of his former insecurities came rushing back to him in a wave, pulling him under.

What if Lance was right? Had he become too full of himself? He had thought he would be a terrible leader, he had begged the black lion not to choose him, but the mantle was thrust upon him anyway.

He didn't want to leave Red behind. That was the _last_ thing he'd ever wanted to do. Didn't Lance know that? Didn't he understand how much it hurt to watch someone else pilot his lion, while he himself sat in a chair that had once belonged to the greatest man he'd ever met, who had now vanished into thin air?

He covered his face with his hands and froze when he felt something… wet?

 _No,_ he thought to himself desperately. _No no no no no._

Keith hadn't cried in a long time. Even when Shiro had disappeared he'd kept himself cool. He'd spent years building up these walls, and now they were tumbling down.

All because of Lance.

Maybe if the insults had come from anyone else, he'd be fine, but Lance… Lance wasn't just anyone anymore. He wasn't just his teammate. Since Shiro had disappeared, Lance had become his closest friend, although Keith would have never admitted it out loud.

He supposed it was probably sad. The boy he spent most of his time arguing with was his closest companion.

"Keith?"

 _Speaking of…_

Keith was up in a flash, wiping away any trace of tears as the door slid open and Lance cautiously entered the room.

Figures. He'd forgotten to lock the door.

"What the hell do you want, Lance?" He growled. Lance hesitated.

"You were right." He said quietly. Keith was taken aback by his tone. He sounded… sad.

"About what?" He asked, unconsciously dropping his aggressive demeanor.

"I'm not a warrior to be feared." Lance stated plainly, raising his head to meet Keith's eyes. "I'm not anything. I'm not smart or good with computers, like Pidge. I'm not kind or a good cook like Hunk. Allura is piloting Blue more efficiently than I ever could. I could never lead like Shiro, or you for that matter. Hell, Coran and the mice are more useful than me."

Keith was stunned. He couldn't bring himself to say anything. His eyes were still locked onto Lance's, and he was shocked by what he found there.

Sadness. Hopelessness. Insecurity.

Just like him.

"That's why I took that hit for you," Lance continued softly. "The team needs you. Nobody needs me. I'm… replaceable."

"That's not true," Keith blurted out. "The team does need you. You have skills-"

"Oh yeah?" Lance interrupted. "Like what?"

"You're a great pilot-"

"Not as good as you."

"You keep the team's spirits up-"

"Yeah, that was Shiro's job, not mine." Lance said with a roll of his eyes.

Keith was getting frustrated.

"Stop it! Just… stop it, okay!" He ordered. "The team needs you, and that's the truth!"

"Bullshit!" Lance shot back. "The team doesn't need me! Nobody needs me, nobody even wants me around-"

"I need you, okay!" Keith shouted.

Lance froze. Suddenly, he had nothing to say. His brain couldn't even process what he had just heard.

 _Keith needed… him?_

Keith realized what he'd said and felt himself turn as red as his jacket. But there was no turning back.

"Do you think I don't feel like that too?" He asked Lance desperately. " _You_ were right, not me. I have no idea how to lead. I don't even _want_ to lead. This… this was Shiro's idea, not mine. But you… ever since I was handed this responsibility, you're the one who's been there for me. Even if you didn't realize it."

"...how?" That was all Lance could say. He was still in shock.

"Just little things," Keith admitted. "Having my back in a fight, sparring and training with me, even just small conversations. But I needed that _so badly_ after Shiro disappeared. And… I still do."

Keith dropped his gaze to the floor. He hadn't meant to say so much. He couldn't remember the last time he'd spilled his soul out to someone like this… maybe he never had. Now he had to deal with the consequence that would be Lance's reaction.

He braced himself for the worst. Maybe Lance would laugh at him. Maybe he would be equally embarrassed. Maybe… maybe he wouldn't be able to handle this confession of his. Maybe he'd never even want to speak to him again.

That was maybe the worst of all his imaginary scenarios.

Instead… he felt a hand slip into his.

His head shot up immediately, only to find Lance was right in front of him. Both of their eyes widened as they realized just _how_ close they were.

Lance could feel Keith's frantic breaths on his face, and he hoped that the other boy couldn't hear his heart pounding out of his chest.

"Um…" Lance started, but he had nothing to say. His eyes never left Keith's as they simply stood there, hands clasped, faces only inches apart.

Inches that Lance was feeling the desperate need to close.

Keith opened his mouth, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Keith?" Came Hunk's inquiring voice. "What are you doing, man, it's dinner time. Everyone's waiting. Except for Lance, I guess he's probably around here somewhere. Anyway, hurry up!"

The two boys stood frozen until they heard Hunk's footsteps fade away.

"Uh… we should probably, um, you know." Keith managed to say. Lance shook himself out of his trance.

"Right! Dinner, yeah, we should go." He agreed, eyes falling to where his hand held Keith's. He didn't want to let go.

Luckily, Keith pulled back first, slipping his hand out of Lance's grasp.

"Well, I guess we should go see what Hunk has whipped up today." He said with a slight smile, before walking out of the room, leaving Lance frozen.

It took a minute for him to remember how to walk, but then he headed down to dinner.

* * *

Lance paced back and forth across his room. He couldn't stop thinking about Keith. Dinner had been insanely awkward, what with the team asking how their solo mission went. They both gave the minimum details necessary, and hardly said a word through the entire meal, much to the confusion of the rest of the group.

And now… now Lance was restless. He felt so stupid. Keith had told him how much Lance meant to him, and he'd just stood there like an idiot.

Until for some reason he decided that the proper reaction was _to hold Keith's hand_

Honestly, what had he been thinking?

Then there was that urge, that need to close the gap… but Lance refused to think about that. Not now.

The truth was, no one had said anything like that to him in a long time. Not since he'd joined the team, at least. He knew they cared for him, of course, but it had never actually been vocalized. Mostly, he heard how silly he was, how ridiculous.

Part of him knew it was a joke, but there was always part of him that wondered if that was really all he was. Just the comic relief. The idiot on the team.

His train of thought was interrupted by a voice at the door.

"Lance?"

His heart began to pound. The voice belonged to Keith.

"Come in," He called, hoping his voice didn't sound as shaky as it felt.

Keith slipped inside, looking extremely awkward as he stood in front of Lance.

"I just wanted to say, about earlier," He started quietly, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. "I know that what I said seemed like, you know… a lot, I guess, but I don't want that to make things awkward or anything, you're still my teammate and-"

Lance couldn't take it anymore. The urge was too strong, and Lance was sick and tired of resisting.

Before Keith could finish his sentence, Lance yanked him down by his jacket and suddenly his lips were on Keith's.

Keith froze immediately. His mind couldn't comprehend what was going on. Lance was… kissing him?

By the time he had somewhat pulled himself together, Lance had pulled away.

"What… what the hell was that?" Keith found himself asking, raising a hand to his lips. Lance's face grew red.

"It's called a kiss, asshole." He muttered. He should've known this would happen. Of course Keith wouldn't feel the same.

"Oh," Keith replied dumbly. Lance decided it would be best if he left.

He made to move past Keith, but the other boy grabbed his arm.

"Do it again."

Lance froze, slowly turning back to face him.

"What?" He asked, incredulous. Keith's face burned red with embarrassment.

"I said, do it again," He repeated, not meeting Lance's eyes. "Please." He added in a softer tone.

Lance only hesitated a moment before complying. This time, Keith kissed him back with an equal amount of fervor, and damn did it feel good.

He felt Keith's arms wrap around him, and the warm feeling threatened to overtake him as he returned the gesture.

The feeling took up residence inside of Lance, and soon blossomed into a flame as he realized that neither one of them were making any moves to end this.

He increased the intensity of their kisses, sliding a hand up into Keith's hair, keeping the other one wrapped tightly around his waist. Keith didn't hesitate to once again match his pace, and Lance smiled against his lips.

Even when kissing they were neck and neck, always keeping pace with each other… and yet, it was still competitive.

And this was one competition that Lance didn't want to lose.

* * *

A little while later, both boys were curled up together in Lance's bed. Things had certainly gotten… interesting.

He captured Keith's lips in a slow, sweet kiss, a far cry from their earlier passionate ones, and pulled him in tight beside him.

His grip only tightened as Keith pulled back slightly. He was afraid that the other boy was going to leave.

But Keith only rested his forehead against Lance's clearly catching his breath.

"Is this how we're going to resolve all arguments in the future?" He asked Lance.

Lance knew what the question really meant

 _Were they going to pretend this never happened? Or would they explore it… and maybe develop it into something more?_

He didn't hesitate before answering.

"Well, I don't mind if you don't."

* * *

 **A/N - Hey, I hope you enjoyed that one-shot! I haven't actually written these two characters before, so I hope I did an okay job!**

 **I'd also like to clarify that Lance and Keith DID NOT have sex, I'm just not very good at writing make out scenes, so I chose to pass on it. If you guys would like to see what happened, let me know and I'll post what I had originally written.**

 **Anyway, please leave a review with your thoughts and suggestions, and feel free to check out some of my other, longer fics!**

 **~ Elizabeth (FanOfDeliciousFlavour)**


End file.
